When the priest has laid the Precious Gifts on the altar, he, or the deacon, offers the Litany of Completion. The people reply ‘Grant this, Lord’, after each petition. He then says, in a low voice the Prayer of the Offertory, after which he goes out through the royal doors and says aloud: ‘Peace be with you all’. The peace of God is a gift from Him to those of us who have a pure life and who forgive other people. This peace cannot be taken away. Nothing can trouble it. And it’s a necessary before we can say ‘Let us love one another’, in peace and unity, all Christians, and can ‘confess the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and undivided’.

While the people are singing these words, the priests who are celebrating exchange an embrace. In the olden days, all the members of the congregation used to do this, as an indication of their love and harmony. The Symbol of the Faith, the Creed, is then read, or, better, said aloud by the whole congregation.

Below is the extract from the Divine Liturgy to which the text above refers.

That the whole day may be perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless, let us ask of the Lord.

For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord.

For pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord.

For that which is good and beneficial for our souls, and for peace for the world, let us ask of the Lord.

That we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, let us ask of the Lord.

And let us ask for a Christian end to our life, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ.

Deacon: Calling to remembrance our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.

People: To You, Lord.

And he exclaims:

Through the mercies of Your only-begotten Son, with Whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

THE SYMBOL OF OUR FAITH
I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made. Who for our sake and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and He rose on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures. And He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; He will come again with glory to judge the living and dead. His Kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

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Pemptousia and OCN have entered a strategic partnership to bring Orthodoxy Worldwide. Greek philosophers from Ionia considered held that there were four elements or essences (ousies) in nature: earth, water, fire and air. Aristotle added ether to this foursome, which would make it the fifth (pempto) essence, pemptousia, or quintessence. The incarnation of God the Word found fertile ground in man’s proclivity to beauty, to goodness, to truth and to the eternal. Orthodoxy has not functioned as some religion or sect. It was not the movement of the human spirit towards God but the revelation of the true God, Jesus Christ, to man. A basic precept of Orthodoxy is that of the person ­– the personhood of God and of man. Orthodoxy is not a religious philosophy or way of thinking but revelation and life standing on the foundations of divine experience; it is the transcendence of the created and the intimacy of the Uncreated. Orthodox theology is drawn to genuine beauty; it is the theology of the One “fairer than the sons of men”. So in "Pemptousia", we just want to declare this "fifth essence", the divine beaut in our life. Please note, not all Pemptousia articles have bylines. If the author is known, he or she is listed in the article above.

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